iPad 3rd Generation FAQ

"Retina Display" is a marketing term coined by Apple to describe the high resolution screen first debuted on iPhone 4, whose 3.5 inch screen was packed with 960x640 pixels, resulting in 326 pixels per inch (ppi) density. Their theory was that at that density pixels become so small that human eyes cannot spot the individual pixels even at very close distance. Although there has been report countering the theory, pixel density on iPhone 4's screen was in fact far denser than any competitors' on the market at the time of announcement. Many screen has since achieve similar density since iPhone 4 debuted in 2010.

Despite it being the third iteration of the iPad, Apple is simply calling it "the new iPad" when announced. Apple is likely going forward with the same strategy of MacBooks, where a yearly refresh on the line up does not require a new name each time.

The processor remains the same, only the graphic portion is quad core, to be able to process the retina display, thus essentially the speed experienced is similar to that of the last iPad, albeit at a much higher resolution.